Cell Phone Insiders

[SwiftCat]

It is shocking to me........SHOCKING......how many people still don't grasp the idea of contracts and subsidized phones with mobile carriers. 

You mean, I can't just come in and get a free iPhone and renew my contract anytime I want??

Yeah. This isn't very hard.

[mocat]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, but it seems unreasonable to me to ever spend $300+ on a phone. 

[michigancat]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, but it seems unreasonable to me to ever spend $300+ on a phone. 

I'm guessing you already have more than once.

[mocat]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, but it seems unreasonable to me to ever spend $300+ on a phone. 

I'm guessing you already have more than once.

Well that is the exact opposite guess you should have come away from that post with.

Also, no, of course not.

[michigancat]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, but it seems unreasonable to me to ever spend $300+ on a phone. 

I'm guessing you already have more than once.

Well that is the exact opposite guess you should have come away from that post with.

Also, no, of course not.

You just don't realize it

[mocat]

Ok.

[JohnCurrie is Weird/Gross]

Apple is the most boss stud company ever. Top button on Iphone 5 was only working intermittently after about 8 months of use (don't have apple care, still under 1 year warranty), walked into apple store, 5 minutes later walked out with new phone for free no questions asked. 

[pissclams]

sounds like you had apple care, you just didn't have apple care.  why, you ask me, clams?  because apple cares.

[SwiftCat]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, but it seems unreasonable to me to ever spend $300+ on a phone. 

Do you want me to try and explain it to you?

[SwiftCat]

DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU DO OR NOT!

Smart Phones are expensive to make. If you were to buy a new phone without a contract, it would cost you $500+. Some examples: GSIII and iPhone 5.

When you sign a new contract with an American Carrier, you pay a subsidized price. Sprint says, "I'll tell you what, you pay $200 for this phone right now, and we'll get the other $300+ back from you over the next two years." That means you are paying more for your service, so that Sprint gets the full price of the phone. That's why it will cost you money to break your contract. You are paying the rest of the subsidy.

It's also why it's cheaper for SundancePoundKid to pay 300 for a phone right now and not sign a new 2 year contract, than break his contract current one ($200ish) and switch carriers, then buy a new  GSIII on contract ($200ish again, probably find better deal, though.).

EDIT: That's why the Nexus 4 is a really exciting phone. It is only $250 unlocked and subsidized. What is arguably is best android phone, you can get for 1/2 the price of the GSII, and a 1/3 of the price of an iPhone 5.

[mocat]

so you just don't have a carrier then

[SwiftCat]

Everyone has a carrier. You have to pay to use their tubes. Some offer cheaper plans if you bring your own phone. That way you aren't paying them for a subsidy on a phone you didn't buy from them.

They are generally called pay-as-you-go.

[michigancat]

Everyone has a carrier. You have to pay to use their tubes. Some offer cheaper plans if you bring your own phone. That way you aren't paying them for a subsidy on a phone you didn't buy from them.

They are generally called pay-as-you-go.

The big carriers all offer this, too.

[pufiZzle]

And for the people who hate contracts, beware.  The days of subsidized phones are numbered. 

*did I use the comma correctly? 

[mocat]

Everyone has a carrier. You have to pay to use their tubes. Some offer cheaper plans if you bring your own phone. That way you aren't paying them for a subsidy on a phone you didn't buy from them.

They are generally called pay-as-you-go.

so what could one expect to pay per month with a smartphone using not very many minutes, but a crap load of data and texts? does it ever add up to $300 over the course of 2 years?

[michigancat]

Everyone has a carrier. You have to pay to use their tubes. Some offer cheaper plans if you bring your own phone. That way you aren't paying them for a subsidy on a phone you didn't buy from them.

They are generally called pay-as-you-go.

so what could one expect to pay per month with a smartphone using not very many minutes, but a crap load of data and texts?

$30/month on t-mobile

[SwiftCat]

What carrier are you on mocat?

[mocat]

What carrier are you on mocat?

i'm still riding my dad's sprint account which he has had for like 14 years. unlimited everything and i pay $45/month.

[SwiftCat]

Everyone has a carrier. You have to pay to use their tubes. Some offer cheaper plans if you bring your own phone. That way you aren't paying them for a subsidy on a phone you didn't buy from them.

They are generally called pay-as-you-go.

so what could one expect to pay per month with a smartphone using not very many minutes, but a crap load of data and texts? does it ever add up to $300 over the course of 2 years?

Also, you are asking the wrong question. Let's assume right now you pay $80 for T-Mobile's "Classic 500 Minute - Unlimited Nationwide 4G" So, 500 minutes plus unlimited texting and data. If you switch to micat's ( ) plan, you'll be saving $50 a month over the next 2 years. So yeah, you would save over $300.

EDIT:

i'm still riding my dad's sprint account which he has had for like 14 years. unlimited everything and i pay $45/month.

If you switch to tmobile pay as you go, you would still save $15 a month. So 15x24 = 360.

T-Mobile Pay as you go.
Brand new GSIII - $500
2 years of service - $720
Total - $1220

Compared to your current Sprint
Brand new GSIII - $200
2 Years of Service - $1080
Total - $1280

One thing of note, I can't find the 30/month plan michigancat was talking about, so you'll have to take his word for it. In all honesty, 45/month is pretty good.

[pissclams]

the GSII on contract is free w/ sprint

[SwiftCat]

That's fine. It would be cheaper for him to stay on his dad's contract then. I never argued differently.

I only argued he was absolutely paying more than a few hundred for his phone.

EDIT: I also just realized I typo'd and said GSII everywhere in that post when i mean GSIII. Galaxy S III is the phone I thought of when I made that post.

[pissclams]

That's fine. It would be cheaper for him to stay on his dad's contract then. I never argued differently.

I only argued he was absolutely paying more than a few hundred for his phone.

EDIT: I also just realized I typo'd and said GSII everywhere in that post when i mean GSIII. Galaxy S III is the phone I thought of when I made that post.

pro tip- no one is arguing anything

[SwiftCat]

Yeah. I know. Poor choice of words.

[mocat]

Everyone has a carrier. You have to pay to use their tubes. Some offer cheaper plans if you bring your own phone. That way you aren't paying them for a subsidy on a phone you didn't buy from them.

They are generally called pay-as-you-go.

so what could one expect to pay per month with a smartphone using not very many minutes, but a crap load of data and texts? does it ever add up to $300 over the course of 2 years?

Also, you are asking the wrong question. Let's assume right now you pay $80 for T-Mobile's "Classic 500 Minute - Unlimited Nationwide 4G" So, 500 minutes plus unlimited texting and data. If you switch to micat's ( ) plan, you'll be saving $50 a month over the next 2 years. So yeah, you would save over $300.

EDIT:

i'm still riding my dad's sprint account which he has had for like 14 years. unlimited everything and i pay $45/month.

If you switch to tmobile pay as you go, you would still save $15 a month. So 15x24 = 360.

T-Mobile Pay as you go.
Brand new GSIII - $500
2 years of service - $720
Total - $1220

Compared to your current Sprint
Brand new GSIII - $200
2 Years of Service - $1080
Total - $1280

One thing of note, I can't find the 30/month plan michigancat was talking about, so you'll have to take his word for it. In all honesty, 45/month is pretty good.

yeah thanks for the breakdown. My situation is probably a little unrealistic for most people, but i'm not jumping off my dad's plan until sprint makes me 

[chum1]

I stopped using tweetdeck last summer in case it went away.  Yes!